1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector comprised of modules assembled together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide electrical connectors in separate modules that are assembled together into a single assembly for mating with a complementary connector. A module may, for example, comprise an insulative housing having a row of terminal receiving cavities for receiving electrical terminals connected to conducting wires. Such modules, whether identical or similar, are then stackable together and usually mounted in a shell housing that encapsulates and secures the plurality of assembled connector modules. A connector with a plurality of rows of and columns is thus formed. One of the advantages of modular design is, for example, when the conducting wires terminate to different modules that are connected to different harnesses and can only be assembled together when the harnesses are assembled in the device or apparatus for which they are destined. The latter is typical in the automotive industry. By preparing separate modules, conducting wires can be terminated to terminals and pre-mounted in the modules in an automated procedure, and then simply assembled together in a shell housing upon final assembly.
One of the problems of providing connector modules as opposed to a single connector block is the increase in volume. For example a single row module is provided top and bottom walls requiring a minimum thickness in order to provide sufficient mechanical rigidity. When stacking modules together, the wall thickness separating terminals is thus doubled. When producing a single (non-modular) connector with a plurality of rows and columns, the walls can be made thinner and therefore a more compact pitch between terminals can be achieved.